With the rainy season fast approaching, Rohingya families living in the Bangladeshi refugee camps are facing grave danger. Torrential rainfall is likely to cause mudslides and sweep away flimsy tents. The small amount of stability that traumatised Rohingya refugees have managed to gain over the past months will be destroyed.

The monsoon rains bring flooding, and with it the likelihood that water borne diseases will spread. Families are still struggling to access basic healthcare and there is a very real danger that if diseases like cholera and diphtheria take hold, medical services will be overwhelmed.

Our dedicated team in Bangladesh have run a total of 190 handwashing demonstration sessions, to teach Rohingya families the importance of clean hands before eating or preparing food. A total of 7,620 Rohingya people attended the sessions and they practiced handwashing with soap, water and clean towels.

We also conducted 140 hygiene promotion sessions where project staff discussed the importance of good personal hygiene practices and the dangers of open defecation. 5,854 Rohingya people benefited from these sessions.

Educating refugees on the importance of safe water

Water can easily become contaminated during collection, transportation and storage. With this in mind, we decided to hold Water Safety Plan (WSP) sessions that focused on the necessary procedures that should be followed from source to consumption. In total, we held 136 water safety sessions, attended by 5,058 Rohingya people.

Installing sanitation facilities in the refugee camps

So far, Human Appeal’s team have installed 11 deep tube wells, at 800 to 1000 feet in depth. These tube wells will provide water in all seasons, even through natural fluctuations in the water table. One tube well is planned to serve water to around 100 families. In this area, some shallow tube wells already exist, but in the dry season they are not functional. Under the guidance of the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), we installed only deep tube wells and they will support 5,550 individuals in Jamtoli and Hakimpara.

Adequate toilet facilities prevent open defecation, which can contaminate water supplies and contribute to the spread of disease. Thanks to the support of our donors, we were also able to construct 80 longer lasting latrines in the Jamtoli camp. Each latrine caters for the needs of 10 families, giving them dignity.

The Rohingya refugees still need your help

With the monsoon season on its way, refugee families are incredible vulnerable to the effects of flooding and the spread of water borne diseases. Thousands of people are still unable to access proper toilets, clean water, soap for handwashing or healthcare basics such as antibiotics.

For just £100, you can give a vulnerable family food, clean water and basic medical supplies, protecting them from both hunger and disease. This emergency pack could mean the difference between life and death for Rohingya refugees who have lost everything.